Today I received a letter from the said Dr from the Fibro clinic. He listed my ailments as Fibro Syndrome Osteoarthritis Previous CFS Diabetes type 11 and persistently low Platelet count!

I read the letter and thought wish I could send him a reply!!

He said I had been seen at another hospital for Orthopaedic Surgery who confirmed I had bad knees and needed a replacement of both,Said she had a steroid injection in her knee with good result. Her knee joints appear to be stable and she can move them from 0 to 120 degrees Her hip rotation is good.(he never touched my hip. And I cant walk but he forgot to mention that! He then went on to say he has refered me to a coping skills program to teach me Exercise tolerance I have given her a book to do exercises from as she needs to strengthen her muscles due to knee problems.....Er I cannot Walk or swim or drive but he never even mentioned my fibro!

He did say I had Persistently low platelets and why had my Dr not let him know? I have only had them low for the last 6 months,and my Dr is keeping a check on it.

He seemed more interested in the fact that in his opinion there was not a lot wrong with my legs, that losing weight and doing exercise would not cure !! He was so rude I never want to see him again.

12 Replies

ive got to be honest my consultants are really supportive did he say what your ESR levels are mine are 50 and i believe they should be about 10 i know (only from the consultant) that the low platelets go hand in hand with it . High ESR is a sign of infection, swelling so its often a Rhumy marker for trouble. You could ask your p to send you to someone else these people are not gods just humans take heart xx

A few years ago I went to a Rheumatologist at one of the London Hospitals for a 2nd opinion on my Fibro. My husband pays into Benenden which covers some health care but not others.

Anyway Benenden agreed to pay his fee which was £250 I think. The journey up to London was stressful enough for me but the Consultant was extremely rude to me. He pulled me about and really hurt me. I asked him if the chronic fatigue was all part of Fibromyalgia and he said "Oh you think you have chronic fatigue do you?' I said "I know I have chronic fatigue" to which he replied "You know or you just think you know. Are you sure it isn't what someone has told you you have?" I knew I'd get nowhere with him by this time.

He told me the pins and needles in my hands and the spasms in my hands/arms were due to carpal tunnel. I asked him if he thought the pain/numbness/tingling/ spasms could be emanating from my neck. He told me "No" Anyway I had nerve conduction studies which proved that I have a nerve problem in my neck due to arthritis and this can get pinched and this is what causes a lot of the pins/needles/tingling/spasms. There was also a bit of carpal tunnel involvement but not enough to worry about.

He wrote to my GP saying he'd see me again (no doubt for another handsome fee!!!) but my husband and I said it wasn't worth the stress of the journey or the cost of the train fares to travel up to London to see such a rude man.

So that was that.

No Dr should be rude to any patient whether they are NHS or private and what you experienced is disgusting, Rainbow. I can sympathise totally.

The Rheumatologist who diagnosed my Fibromyalgia was a charming man. I only saw him a couple of times, and then the registrar, but then I was discharged as his clinics are very busy and he felt that there was nothing he could really do for me. I see my GP with any problems but mostly I just plod on and "keep taking the tablets"...lol... I do very little on a daily basis.

Could you discuss this man's appalling treatment of you with your GP? It might make you feel better to make your feelings known.

I wish you luck anyway. I hope what I have written at least helps you to realise you aren't alone in being treated badly by a Dr. Not that that is much consolation, I realise!!

Thanks Saskia,sounds just like the one I saw! The first time Isaw this man Ipaid private he charged me £200 for him £150 for blood tests and £150 for another type of blood test. My Insurance did not cover it. So I had to wait for NHS and it was the same guy . I had reported him to my Dr as he hurt my knee's . From your conversation he treated me the first time the same as you almost word for word!

No I never went to London I went to The Bath Clinic in the next Town to us. But I have a lot of the same as you.

I have Cronic Virol Fatigue syndrome and he put in my letter I had previously had CFS. I also have bad carpal tunnel,but he dismissed that too tho he never tested me for it. (I got it 15 years ago from a car accident I had that also gave me whiplash.)

Two or three months ago I saw one of his registra's and she was lovely,never hurt me at all but checked all my fibro points and 18 points were bad!

My appointment went OK today thanks,I just have to have another platelet blood test on Thursday.and chase up my physio,still not had any ,supposed to be seen in oct; but not sorted yet!

Anyway Saskia lovely to speak to you and the other fibromites on here x

We've just been through a similar experience on Oxford. He's also taken me off all of my connective tissue disease meds. Fibromyalgia doesn't cause inflammation but auto-immune and connective tissue diseases do. Mine was at 24 when I last saw him. He basically said its just fibro and if you want it to go away badly enough it will... My OH and I were stunned.

As I struggle to gather my thoughts at the best of times my OH suggest I write a letter to my GP with all of my concerns & worries about this consultant & his diagnosis & pop it through the surgery door. I did that yesterday. He called me and said he's most surprised. He said he will wait to see what the consultant at the JR says in his letter then discuss where we go next. Maybe you could try the same with your GP?

It was really horrible and as he had hurt my knee's before ,I was very wary of him doing it again! My knee's were actually doing quite well till this man waggled them about and hurt me back in May last year within two days I was in agony and finding it hard to walk. A month later and I was unable to walk at all and my knee's were worse! I told my Orthapedic Dr what he did, and he said well he did not do you any favours !

I am no better now than June last year,he even tried to waggle the knee I had a steroid injection in two weeks ago ! And I said please take your hands off my knee's as you hurt me last time you manipulated them. He said well I don't think your knee's are as bad as you think! Er... thought he was a Fibro consultant? and Fibro is in the muscles......so he gave me exersizes to do 15 rep's 4 times a day on both legs to strengthen my knees. Also sudgested I go to the Gym! What part of I can't walk did he not get....I was on a mobility scooter and my husband helped me. He said "No room in here for that, you will have to walk,and just pop upon the bed" If I could do that would I be there >......Er NO!

The Orthopedic surgeon had told me not to do any Impact exersizes and to just keep walking in the pool.

I had also had an Operation on my bowel and he questioned my meds and said what are they for and I said I have had a few problems and had to have a miner Op ,he asked me what it was for and I said well nothing to do with my fibro.....I will decide that ! was his reply...so I had to tell him and was shocked at his reply " Well obviously they were looking for Cancer, and if they had found it you would know by now! " He then said Co-codamol etc does not give you constipation.....well the leaflet tells you dif: I thought,......

I am as I said before never seeing him again !!

Sorry to have gone on but it was so bad and then to get this letter that is not good or true has really made me mad!!

Gentle hugs to you all hope your consultants went to a better college or Uni

Rainbow x x x x

4 years agoHidden

I have had some lovely consultants not least the heart man in whittington who muffled my hair in the waiting room and boomed out nice to see you dressed petal

I was curled up with laughter as was the rest of theroom dont think it came out right or thatbthey realised may real name actually was petal